Crossing Borders, Drawing Boundaries: A Co-Sponsored Symposium

USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute

"Crossing Borders, Drawing Boundaries: Contextualizing Rubens's Man in Korean Costume" is a one-day symposium that analyzes the various misunderstandings that arose when Europeans and Asians encountered one another in the early modern period.

In this interdisciplinary symposium, scholars expand on themes addressed in the exhibition Looking East: Rubens' Encounter with Asia. Topics include: What mercantile and missionary issues informed the depictions of Asians in 16th- and 17th-century Europe? How did Europeans exoticize Asian costumes and culture? What impact did the arrival of Europeans in Korea have on Korean art, culture, and politics? By examining works of art from religious, mercantile, and political perspectives, this symposium provides a nuanced understanding of appropriation and cultural translation.

USC faculty and students should rsvp to emsi@usc.edu by March 1, 2013.